In the retailing of various beverages it has become increasingly popular for the beverages to be contained in returnable 8, 12, or 16 ounce bottles. A predetermined number (e.g. six) of the filled bottles are initially packaged in a carrier formed of suitable paperboard material. Once the bottles are empty they are normally returned to the place of purchase for a refund of the bottle deposit charged at the time of purchase. To facilitate the return of the empty bottles, it is desirable to utilize, if possible, the initial carrier for this purpose.
Various dual purpose carriers have heretofore been proposed; however, because of certain inherent design characteristics they have been beset with one or more of the following shortcomings: (a) the carrier had a complex configuration and was difficult to set up and load; (b) the carrier failed to provide adequate protection for the accommodated bottles; (c) the carrier, when loaded, was awkward and uncomfortable to manually carry; (d) the carrier required an inordinate amount of paperboard material; (e) the carrier had an unattractive appearance and loaded carriers could not readily be arranged in stacked relation for display or storage purposes; and (f) the carrier, when not set up, could not be stored or transported to the bottler while in a collapsed state.